Noble students participating in 'Year of Caring'

Noble High School’s “Year of Caring” is well under way and providing faculty and students with opportunities to address problems and issues in their community and come up with solutions.

After the tragic death of a student in 2011, the members of the high school faculty decided that they needed to do something to let young people know that their community cares for them — they needed to let them know that “people need other people to help them,” and that it’s OK to reach out and ask for help.

The staff declared a “Week of Caring” at the high school. The week included a film festival of student-made videos and public service announcements that helped spread awareness about the resources that were available to teenagers who needed help. The event turned out to be a success — so much so that a “Week of Caring” did not feel like enough.

That’s how this year’s “Year of Caring” came to be.

The high school does not have a specific plan for this YOC but is focusing on identifying problems and helping students find solutions. The faculty wants students to know that help is available, and that they should not be afraid to find it.

Resiliency seems to be the theme for this “Year of Caring.” Students with good friends who smile and have a positive attitude tend to be the most resilient, and the Noble community wants all students to feel this way.

The school held an art show as part of the “Year in Caring,” and there also was a contest for the best photograph, painting and sculpture in the event. Students also held another film festival. Some teachers even have incorporated “Year of Caring” lessons into their classrooms.

RESCUE MEMBERS IN TRAINING!

Six members of the Lebanon Rescue Department started several hundred hours of classroom and clinical training on Saturday, Jan. 5, to become Maine-certified and nationally registered Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs).

Volunteers Donna Hoit, Teena Meserve, Danielle Rohloff, Roy Chabot, JT Harmon, and Mike Sabine have all started the training. The course is hands-on, and very interactive. Upon successful completion of the course, they will be able to take the state certification exam.

The EMT curriculum includes preparation for medical emergencies, trauma emergencies, pediatrics, obstetrics, EMS operations, and special patient populations, among other things.

The Maine Spinal Assessment Program is also included in the EMT-B curriculum. EMT-B students must also complete observational clinical time in the Hospital Emergency Department (ED) and an EMS agency “ride along.”

After becoming certified, all medical personnel have to attend continuing education classes to relicense every few years.

We would like to thank these six volunteers for their hard work, and for the time they are taking away from their friends and families for this intensive training, which they are doing for the community, and we would like to wish them the best of luck!

PLEASE DRIVE SAFELY

As freezing temperatures continue, and road conditions are not always at their best, the Lebanon Rescue Department would like to remind everyone to drive safely and cautiously, as there have been many accidents lately.

SELECTMEN TO MEET

The Lebanon Board of Selectmen will have a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Lebanon Town Office on Upper Guinea Road.

The meeting is open to the public.

OFFICIALS HOLDING CONSTITUENCY HOURS

Selectwoman Karen Gerrish will be holding constituency hours with York County Commissioner Sallie Chandler at the Lebanon Town Office on Saturday, Jan. 26, from 10 a.m. to noon.